Number of car bays at proposed Victoria Park apartment complex to be reduced

THE number of car bays at a proposed apartment complex in the Town of Victoria Park will be cut to ease concerns of oversupply and impacts to amenity.

In January, the Town supported the development of a 36-dewilling complex on Basinghall Street but recommended the Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) reduce the number of bays when it considered the item this month.

On Wednesday JDAP panellists voted 5-0 to back the development, with several amendments.

One of those was a reduction in the number of bays from 61, with one in four spots to be filled with landscape strips.

The exact number of bays in the development will be known when a final design is complete, according to JDAP presiding member Charles Johnson.

Victoria Park Deputy Mayor Vicki Potter said there was an oversupply of parking, despite alternatives including public transport close by.

“With the expected increase in population, infill and medium to high-density housing, this is an opportunity to build a development that is more sustainable and puts people first in design,” she said.

“There is no need for quite so many car bays when there is public transport and amenity available to residents of the property so close by.

“It’s important, with the Town’s urban forest strategy imminent, we provide a space where people can plant trees and enjoy sustainable green space.”

At the meeting, Vicki Caulfeld called for the panel to reject the project, with the open space carpark component a big issue for neighbours.

She said the minimum bays required – 37 – for residents and nine for visitors – could have been located in a basement or undercroft and the space set aside for parking used for landscaping.

“This would allow space on the block for landscaping including large trees and communal facilities to improve the amenity of the residents,” she said.

Mackay Urbandesign’s Malcolm Mackay, who confirmed the Design Review Committee’s support for the development, said basement parking was an expensive option.